This Couple Is Learning About People Around The World By Documenting Their Style

"Style elements portray a culture and how, for instance, it has been shaped throughout history by foreign influences."

A person's style is not only an expression of personality, but is often a reflection of their culture and society's values. Perhaps looking at a person's outfit choices, then, is the best initial way to gather information about them.

This is the idea conveyed in Around the World in 80 Styles, a photography series by Marcela Makarova and Philippe-Henry that features the styles and cultures of people from all over the globe.

"Since 2012, we've been discovering the world through the people who populate it," Makarova told A Plus in an email. "Solely guided by our eyes, from silhouette to silhouette, from encounter to encounter, each person's style tells a story. Every portrait is both a human encounter and a discovery of a place, an invitation to travel."

The pair travel the globe in search of street styles that speak to them and spontaneously photograph the people they meet wearing those fashions. Sometimes that means the subject is in traditional garb, a uniform, or just a really eccentric outfit. Mostly, though, the dresser is in an everyday look they never expected to be photographed in.

"Style-wise, each region of the world still keeps its distinctive features: the motif, the fabric, the cut. All these style elements portray a culture and how, for instance, it has been shaped throughout history by foreign influences. Nowadays one can see the impact of globalization that leads to a certain homogenization and telling modernity and tradition combinations," Makarova said.